Womhoops Guru

Mel Greenberg covered college and professional women’s basketball for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he worked for 40 plus years. Greenberg pioneered national coverage of the game, including the original Top 25 women's college poll. His knowledge has earned him nicknames such as "The Guru" and "The Godfather," as well as induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Friday, July 30, 2021

The Guru Report: Black/D-2 Jefferson Finishes Regular Season Unbeaten; 4th Place Tie Cleared for Playoffs in Philly/Suburban Women’s Summer League

By Bob Heller and Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

HATBORO, Pa. — Team Black/D2-Jefferson kept its perfect run to the regular season finish with a lopsided 74-53 win over Royal Blue/D3-Ursinus Thursday night but a narrow 50-47 win by Orange/D2- Chestnut Hill squad over the Pink/USciences Alums and a 68-39 loss by Sky Blue/D2-Holy Family to the Maroon/D2-USciences undergrads created a three-way fourth place tie requiring several steps to bust and set the eight seeds for next week’s playoffs in the Philadelphia/Suburban Women’s Summer Basketball League at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades.

Sky Blue was considered a heavy underdog to its winter rival from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) of which Jefferson and Chestnut Hill are also members.

But the Tigers scored just enough points being more productive in the second half to land the fourth slot. 

Had Pink topped Orange the outcome would have put the Devils alums alone in fourth with Sky Blue fifth off its 60-51 win over Orange in their previous meeting.

Instead creative thinking by your authors required using the system that was in place using points scored as a deeper step had it been needed to set up the WNBA’s first Commissioner’s Cup in which clear qualifiers Connecticut and Seattle will meet in Phoenix at 9 p.m., the same night as the summer league championship, Aug. 12, as a prelude to the end of the break for the Olympics.

In the three-way jam, the mini-league head-to-head died quick because the trio were all 1-1 against themselves.

Step two, best win, also went by the boards because none of the three had a win over the top three teams whose losses were all to themselves.

So it was then decided to use total points by each of the trio against the three frontrunners. Some consideration was also given to average score of the deadlocked teams against themselves but this system allowed a three-game scoring average against the top of the league.

The early results, which included the Orange-Pink outcome, also saw Kelly easily beat Red/D3-Arcadia 83-41.

Going into the night, five teams were locked into their seeds, featuring Jefferson (7-0) USciences (6-1), and Kelly (5-2) at the top, and Royal Blue (1-7), which became the final victim, 74-53, of the Black season sweep, and Red (0-8) at the bottom.

The tallying beginning after the early games when the tie loomed showed Orange edged Pink 132-131 against the three leaders, the only ones which also had winning records.

All that remained for the teams at 3-4 was what would Sky Blue produce, needing 34 points to get the fourth seed, which they did with five to spare at the finish.

As for the 20 points or more individual performances on the night, 2021 USciences senior Jess Huber out of North Penn High, who drove up from the shore and back afterwards, led Maroon with the best league overall scoring performance on the night, scoring 24, while in the Kelly rout, Kutztown sophomore Annie Whalen out of Archbishop Wood, and West Chester junior Leah Johnson, out of Notre Dame, each scored 21.

Johnson, on the regular season, who had an overall best 26, and Dana Bandurick, a Council Rock North grad who is a Swarthmore junior after transferring from Ursinus, with two games of 22 points each, were the only ones who had multiple 20-points plus milestone nights among the 10 players reaching them 12 times.

Though noting there were fewer teams and less nights than in previous seasons, the schedule went forfeit free, even with the earlier 6:30 starts on the doubleheaders.

However, both your Guru and league photographer Tom Utescher of the Chestnut Hill Local independently observed that the snack bar twice suffered no show forfeits, including Thursday, while for the most part the schedule dodged the hot humid nights for the most part.

And so under the revised playoffs dates schedule, whose quarterfinals won’t begin until next Thursday. August 5th, instead of Tuesday, the early games at 6:30 p.m., have 8th seed Arcadia, the only summer team that wasn’t totally idled last winter by the pandemic, meeting No. 1 Black on Court 1 while sixth-seed Pink plays third seed Kelly on Court 2.

In their previous meetings, Black topped Red 78-44 on June 24th while Kelly beat Pink, narrowly, 56-52, two weeks ago on July 15th.

Pink was missing several key players Thursday night in the loss to Orange due to previous commitments.

In the nightcaps at 7:45 p.m. next week, seven seed Royal will meet two seed Maroon on Court 1 while  fifth seed Orange will play fourth seed Sky Blue on Court 2.

In their previous meetings Maroon topped Royal 61-50 two weeks ago on July 15th and Sky Blue beat Orange 60-51 on July 1.

The playoffs continue the following week in a rare back-to-back in league scheduling that has seen it at times in the past depending on when July 4th fell, on Wednesday, August 11th in the semifinals, the highest surviving quarterfinal seed will meet the lowest at 6:30 p.m. on Court 1 while the other two winners will then take the court at 7:45 p.m.

The next night, August 12th, as originally scheduled on that Thursday, the semifinal winners will meet for the championship at 6:45 p.m. on Court 1.

Now, here’s Bob with Thursday night’s game detail.

RECAPS

Orange 50   Pink 47

Team Orange (Chestnut Hill College) overcame a slow start and held off Team Pink (USciences alums) to earn a 50-47 win in one of the two early games Thursday night.


The win propelled Orange into a three-way tie in the middle of the pack with Pink and Sky Blue with 3-4 records.  


Following the league tie-break procedures Orange will hold the #5 seed for next week’s quarterfinals while Pink will have the #6 seed.


Brianna Rider and Brianna Hewlett led Orange with 13 and 12 points respectively.  Jen Kremp (A Dickinson college senior) led Pink with 12 points while USciences grad Sarah Abbonizio added ten.


Pink got three-point baskets from Molly Greenberg, Kremp and Allie Crone to jump out to an early 9-0 lead. 


 Orange battled back to pull within two with an 11-4 run with Rider scoring the last six points of the run. 


 Rider added her fourth basket of the quarter as time was running out, cutting Pink’s lead to 16-15.


Lauren Crim opened the second quarter with a basket to give Orange their first lead 17-16. 


 Orange increased their lead to four before Pink battled back to tie the score on a Laura Trisch three-pointer.  


Emily Chmiel added a basket to give Orange a 27-25 lead at the half.


The Orange lead grew to as large as six before Abbonizio and Trisch made back-to-back three-pointers late in the quarter to tie the game at 36-36. Before Chmiel put Orange back on top with a free throw.


Abbonizio opened the fourth quarter with a three-point basket to give Pink a 39-37 lead. 


 The two teams traded leads twice before Orange took the lead for good with two baskets by Trinity Brittingham, 47-43, the last with just under 40 seconds remaining.

 

  Pink closed within two and was forced to foul.  Orange made three of four free throws in the final ten seconds to seal the three-point win.

 

Maroon 68   Sky Blue 39


The Maroon-Sky Blue game was the other game on the evening which had playoff seeding implications.


 Team Maroon (USciences undergrads) jumped out to the early lead and led wire-to-wire, defeating Team Sky Blue (Holy Family University), 68-39.


Maroon finished the regular season with a 6-1 record and will hold the #2 seed in next week’s playoffs.  Sky Blue finished in a three-way tie in the middle of the pack with Pink and Orangewith 3-4 records.  Following the league tie-break procedures, Sky blue will hold the #4 seed for next week’s quarterfinals.

Jess Huber led Maroon with 24 points (ten field goals, two three pointers), the high point total on the evening.  Anna McTamney added 16 points.  Monee Moore was the lone Sky Blue player in double figures with 15 points.

Maroon scored the first six points en route to taking an 18-2 lead.  McTamney’s three-ball put the USciences Maroon squad up 23-6 heading into the second quarter.

The Maroon lead ballooned to as much as 22 in the second quarter with Huber scoring seven points in the period to finish the half with 19 points while giving her team a 41-19 lead at halftime.

The USciences group continued to increase the lead in the second half, doubling up the Holy Family squad 54-27 as the third quarter ended and grew their lead to as much as 32 in the fourth quarter before settling in for the 68-39 win.

 

Black 74   Royal Blue 53


Team Black (Jefferson University) completed an undefeated regular season with a 74-53 win over Team Royal Blue (Ursinus College).


Black finished the regular season at 7-0 and holds down the top seed in the upcoming playoffs.  Royal Blue will be seeded seventh and finished the regular season at 1-6.


Dana Bandurick led Royal Blue with 18 points while Sydney Blum and Maria D’Aulerio added 14 and 13 points respectively.  Haley Meinel led Black with 18 points.  Cassie Murphy added 13 points while Sam Yencha chipped in ten.


A 12-3 run by black in the first quarter broke a 7-7 tie to put Black in control with a 19-10 lead.  


The Jefferson squad added a 9-3 run to open the second quarter to lead 28-12 before a Blum three-pointer broke the run. 


 Alyssa Martin’s basket in the final minutes of the second quarter pulled Royal within ten, 37-27.  Baskets from Yencha and Meinel pushed Black’s lead to 41-27 and black maintained the 14-point advantage 45-31 at halftime.


Black pushed their lead to 18, 54-36 with 4:22 left in the third quarter before royal closed out the period with an 8-2 run fueled by three-point baskets from Blum and D’Aulerio to trail by 12, 56-44.


Meinel scored two baskets to open the fourth quarter and increase Black’s lead to 16, 60-44.  


Royal again closed the gap, pulling within 11 at 62-51 with a 7-2 run before Black scored the next eight points to take their largest lead at the time 70-51.  Meinel and Murphy closed out the scoring as Black finishedwith a 74-53 win.

 

Kelly Green 83   Red 41


The most lopsided score of the evening game as Kelly Green (Kutztown University) defeated Red (Arcadia University) 83-41 to close out the regular season.


Kelly finished with a 5-2 record and will hold down the #3 seed while Red finished at 0-7 and will be the #8 seed in the upcoming playoffs next week.


Leah Johnson and Annie Whalen scored 21 points apiece to lead Kelly while Casey Remolde added ten points.  Joanna Giustino led Red with 11 points while Sydney Barrer chipped in ten.


Red kept the game close in the opening few minutes before Kelly used a 15-4 run to take a 21-8 lead as the quarter came to an end.  


Valerie McGriff’s basket to open the second quarter increased the Kelly lead to 23-8 before Royal pulled within 11 with two straight baskets, 23-12.  Johnson and Miranda Leibtag then led Kelly on an 11-3 run to close out the quarter up 34-15.


Kelly held Red to just four third quarter points (all free throws) as they built an insurmountable 61-19 lead.  In the fourth quarter both teams scored 22 points with Giustino and Kate Robinson scoring eight points apiece in the quarter for Red while Whalen paced Kelly with six points in the quarter (two three-point baskets).


Standings

 

(Thru Week 7 Games, Regular Season Final, Played Thursday, July 29)

 

Team        W  L  PCT.   GB    PF  PA

 

x-Black  7  0  1.000  —  449  300

Maroon 6  1 .857 1.0 387 330

Kelly  5  2  .714 2.0 467 342

Sky Blue 3  4  .429 4.0  390 380

Orange  3  4   .429 4.0 336 379

Pink  3  4  .429 4.0 343 338

Royal  1  6  .143 6.0 338 457

Red  0  7  .000  7.0  263 447

x-Clinched top seed

 

Players Scoring 20 or More Points

 

26-Leah Johnson, Kelly, W, vs. Royal, July 8

24-Jess Huber, Maroon, W, vs. Sky Blue, July 29

23-Monee Moore, Sky Blue, W, vs. Royal Blue, July 22

23-Anna McTamney, Maroon, W, vs. Kelly, July 1

22-Dana Bandurick, Royal Blue, L, vs. Sky Blue, July 22

22-Dana Bandurick, Royal, L, vs. Pink, June 17

21-Leah Johnson, Kelly, W, Red, July 29

21-Annie Whalen, Kelly, W, Red, July 29

21-Irisa Ye, W, vs. Sky Blue, July 8

21-Jordan Vitelli, Pink, L, vs. Black, July 1

20-Bridget Arcidiacono, Black, W, vs. Red, June 24

20-Taylor Hamm, Maroon, W, vs. Red, June 17


  Phila/Suburban Women’s Summer Basketball League Schedule

 

Thursday, June 17

 

Results

 

Black (D2-Jefferson) 73, Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family)  49

Pink (D2 – USciences Alumnae) 64, Royal (D3-Ursinus) 55

Maroon (D2-USciences) 73, Red (D3-Arcadia) 32

Kelly (D2-Kutztown) 80, Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill) 42

 

Thursday, June 24

 

Maroon 38, Pink 32

Black 78, Red 44

Orange 53, Royal 44

 Kelly 60, Sky Blue 50

 

Thursday, July 1

 

Maroon 63, Kelly 60

Sky Blue 60, Orange 51

Royal 52, Red 37

Black 78, Red 44

 

Thursday, July 8

 

Kelly 85, Royal 40

Black 65, Maroon 26

Pink 51, Sky Blue 48

Orange 50, Red 45

 

Thursday, July 15

 

Sky Blue 61, Red 33

Kelly 56, Pink 52

Black 45, 38 Orange 

Maroon 61, Royal Blue 50

 

Thursday, July 22

 

Sky Blue 83, Royal 44

Maroon 58, Orange 52

Black 54, Kelly 43

Pink  50,  vs. Red 31

 

Thursday, July 29

 

Regular Season Ends

 

Orange 50, Pink 47

Kelly 83, Red 41

Maroon 68, Sky Blue 39

Black 74, Royal Blue 53

 

Thursday, August 5

 

Playoffs Quarterfinals

 

Early Games (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: 8-Red (0-7) vs. 1-Black (7-0)

Court 2: 6-Pink (3-4) vs. 3-Kelly (5-2)

 

Late Games (7:45 p.m.)

 

Court 1: 7-Royal (1-6) vs. 2-Maroon (6-1)

Court 2: 5-Orange (3-4) vs. 4-Sky Blue (3-4)

 

Wednesday, August 11

 

Playoffs Semifinals

 

Early Game (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Highest Quarterfinal Survivor vs. Lowest Quarterfinal Survivor

 

Late Game (7:45 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Remaining Surviving Seeds

 

Thursday, August 12

 

Playoff Championship

 

Tipoff: 6:30 p.m.

 

Court 1 : Semifinal Winners

 

 Playoff Seed Tracker 

 

Black (7-0) vs. SB-W; vs. Rd-W; vs. Pk-W; vs. M-W; vs. O-W; vs. Ky-W; vs. Ry-W

 

Maroon (6-1) vs. Rd-W; vs. P-W; vs. Ky-W; vs. Bl-L; vs. Ry-W; vs. O-W;  vs. SB-W

 

Kelly (5-2) vs. O-W; vs. SB-W; vs. M-L; vs. Ry-W; vs. Pk-W; vs. Bl-L; vs. Rd-W

 

Sky Blue (3-4)  vs. Bl-L; vs. Ky-L: vs. O-W; vs. Pk-L; vs. Rd-W; vs, Ry-W; vs. M-L

 

Orange (3-4) vs. Ky-L; vs. Ry-W; vs. SB-L; vs. Rd-W; vs. Bl-L; vs. M-L; vs. Pk-W

 

Pink (3-4) vs. Ry-W; vs. M-L; vs. Bl-L; vs. SB-W; vs. Ky-L; vs. Rd-W; vs. O-L

 

Royal (1-6) vs. Pk-L; vs. O-L; vs. Rd-W; vs .Ky-L; vs. M-L; vs. SB-L; vs. Bl-L

 

Red (0-7) vs. M-L; vs. Bl-L; vs. Ry-L; vs. O-L; vs. SB-L; vs, Pk-L; vs. Ky-L

 

Codes: BL-Black; Ky-Kelly; M-Maroon; O-Orange; Pk-Pink; Rd-Red; Ry-Royal; SB-Sky Blue

 

Team By Team Regular Season Schedules/Results

 

8-Red (D3-Arcadia) 0-7

 

June 17: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads), L 32-73

June 24: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 1-0), L 44-78

July 1: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 0-2), L 37-52

July 8: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 1-2), L 45-50

July 15: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 1-3), L 33-61

July 22: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 2-3), L 31-50

July 29: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 4-2), L 41-83

Aug. 5: vs. 1-Black (D2-Jefferson 7-0), Qtr-6:30 p.m., Court 1

 

5-Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill) 3-4

 

June 17: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown), L 42-80

June 24: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 0-1), W 53-44

July 1: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 0-2), L 51-60

July 8: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-3), W 50-45

July 15: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 4-0), L 38-45

July 22: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 4-1), L 52-58

July 29: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 3-3), W 50-47

Aug. 5: vs. 4-Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 3-4), Qtr.-7:45 p.m., Court 2

 

 4-Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family) 3-4

 

June 17: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson), L 49-73

June 24: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 1-0), L 50-60

July 1: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 1-1), W 60-51

July 8: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 1-2), L 48-51

July 15: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-4), W 61-33

July 22: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 1-4), W 83-44

July 29: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads (5-1), L 39-68

Aug. 5: vs. 5-Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 3-4), Qtr-7:45 p.m., Court 2

 

1-Black (D2-Jefferson) 7-0

 

June 17: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family), W 73-49

June 24: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-1), W 78-44

July 1: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 1-1), W 60-47

July 8: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 3-0), W 65-26

July 15: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 2-2), W 45-38

July 22: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 4-1), W-54-43

July 29: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 1-5) , 74-53

Aug. 5: vs. 8-Red (D3-Arcadia 0-7), Qtr.-6:30 p.m., Court 1

 

3-Kelly (D2-Kutztown) 5-2

 

June 17: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill), W 80-42

June 24: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 0-1), W 60-50

July 1: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 2-0), L 60-63

July 8: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 1-2), W 85-40

July 15: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 2-2), W 56-52

July 22: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 5-0), L 43-54

July 29: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-6), W 83-41

Aug. 5: vs. 6-Pink (D2-USciences Alums 3-4), Qtr.-6:30 p.m., Court 2

 

7-Royal (D3-Ursinus) 1-6

 

June 17: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae), L 55-64

June 24: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 1-0), L 44-53

July 1: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-2), W 52-37

July 8: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 2-1), L 40-85

July 15: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 3-1), L 50-61

July 22: vs. Sky Blue  (D2-Holy Family 2-3), L 44-83

July 29: vs. Black (Jefferson 6-0), L 53-74

Aug. 5: vs. 2-Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 6-1), Qtr.-7:45 p.m., Court 1

 

 2-Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads) 6-1

 

June 17: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia), W 73-32

June 24: vs. Pink (USciences Alumnae 1-0 ), W 38-32

July 1: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 2-0), W 63-60

July 8: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 3-0), L 26-65

July 15: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 1-3), W 61-50

July 22: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 2-3), W 58-52

July 29: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 3-3), W 68-39

Aug. 5: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 1-6), Qtr.- 7:45 p.m., Court 1

 

6-Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae) 3-4

 

 June 17: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus), W 64-55

June 24: vs. Maroon (D2-Usciences 1-0), L 32-38

July 1: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 2-0), L 47-60

July 8: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 1-2), W 51-48

July 15: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 3-1), L 52-56

July 22: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-5), W 50-31

July 29: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 2-4), L 47-50

Aug. 5: vs. 3-Kelly (D2-Kutztown 5-2), Qtr.-6:30 p.m., Court 2

 

 


 

 



 

 




 







 

Friday, July 23, 2021

The Guru Report: Black/Jefferson Stays Unbeaten, Clinches Top Seed in Philly/Suburban Women’s Summer League

By Bob Heller and Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

HATBORO, Pa. —  Knowing he had great talent but unsure how it might perform after an overall year of idleness due to the coronavirus, veteran D-2 Jefferson coach Tom Shirley was in the crowd Thursday night as his group that competes as Team Black turned aside its last big hurdle and stayed unbeaten with a 54-43 triumph over Kelly Green/ 54-43 to claim the  playoffs top seed with one regular season week remaining in the Philadelphia/Suburban Women’s Summer Basketball League at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades.

The win improved Jefferson to 6-0 in the eight-team league while the D-2 Kutztown group fell to 4-2 and third, which will be its seed when the quarterfinals begin Tuesday, August 3 at 6:30 p.m., with a pair of doubleheaders as the size of competition this summer allows all to take a shot in the postseason.

The semifinals will be held two nights later, Thursday, Aug. 5, and the championship a week later at 6:30 on Thursday, Aug. 12, concludes a successful return following the shutdown a year ago.

That will be the same night the WNBA returns from the Olympic break playing its first in-season Commissioner's Cup in Phoenix, Ariz., for bonus cash between Eastern Conference winning Connecticut Sun and Western qualifying  Seattle Storm.

The rest of the schedule resumes on the weekend.

Back here five seeds were determined out of the four games played.

Maroon/the D-2 USciences undergrads, improved to 5-1, a game behind Black, off a 58-52 win over Orange (2-4) its winter rival in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC).

The Devils finish next week playing another CACC rival Sky Blue/D-2 Holy Family (3-3) at 7:45 p.m. on Court 1.

The lopsided loss to Black, which meets Royal Blue/D-3 Ursinus (1-5) in the other late game on Court 2, prevents Maroon from the top seed even if they finish in a tie if Black is upset.

Royal Blue’s 83-44 wipeout by Sky Blue locks the team into seventh, holding the potential head-to-head tiebreak over winless Red/D3-3 Arcadia, which fell 50-31 to the Pink/USciences Alums,(3-3).

Kelly Green (4-2), which plays Red (0-6) on Court 2 at 6:30 p.m., could tie Maroon for second with a win and Devils loss but the head-to-head loss prevents attaining the second seed.

At the moment involving the three remaining unknowns for the exact playoff seeds, Pink and Sky Blue are tied for fourth, Pink holding the seed off its head-to-head win, while Orange (2-4)  is alone in sixth.

With Orange and Pink going head-to-head next week, a Pink win clinches fourth, but should Orange win, a Sky Blue win gets fourth, and Orange gets fifth off the head-to-head.

But if Orange wins and Sky Blue loses, a three-way finish occurs for fourth, and a dilemma begins because each would be 1-1 killing the first tie-break and none has a best win against the top three.

Meanwhile, two players, one from each side in the same game, after no one reaching it a week ago, hit the nightly performance 20 points plus milestone with Monee Moore, a Holy Family junior out of Archbishop Ryan scoring 23 for the winners, which is second best on the summer, while 22 were registered by Dana Bandurick, matching a previous performance. 

The former Council Rock star is a Swarthmore junior following a transfer from Ursinus.

Now here’s Bob with the skinny from the previous four games. 

RECAPS

Black 54   Kelly   43

Team Black (Jefferson University) got off to a slow start against Team Kelly (Kutztown), playing from behind for much of the first two quarters before rallying to take a lead towards the end of the first half and maintain it en route to a 54-43 win.

Black remains undefeated (6-0) and clinches first place and the top seed in the upcoming playoffs with the win.  Kelly (4-2), despite the loss clinched the #3 seed for the playoffs which begin in two weeks.

Cassie Murphy led Black with 16 points while Sabria Lytes added 10.  Leah Johnson was the lone Kelly player to reach double figures, scoring 12 points.

Kelly scored eight of the first 11 points in the game, opening up an early five-point advantage.  

Black rallied to tie the game twice before a Johnson basket in the final seconds gave Kelly a 14-12 lead heading into the second quarter.

Annie Whalen’s two free throws midway through the quarter gave Kelly a 21-15 lead. A basket from Allie Warren and five straight points from Haley Meinel erased Kelly’s six-point advantage and gave Black their first lead of the game 23-22.  

Johnson’s bucket put Kelly back on top for the moment as Black closed out the half with seven straight points, completing a 14-2 run and taking a 29-23 lead at the break.

Black held Kelly without a field goal for the first 5:15 of the third quarter while extending their lead to nine 33-24. 

 Baskets by Abbie Goodrich and Whalen brought Kelly back within five 33-28 and Johnson later pulled Kelly within three 35-32.  Black scored six of the next eight points to lead 41-34 heading into the final quarter.

Murphy opened the fourth quarter with a pair of baskets, giving Black a double-digit lead 45-34.  

Black led by 12, 47-35 following Brigit Arcidiacono’s put-back before Kelly produced a 6-1 run to get back within striking distance 48-41 with just 2:37 left. 

Arcidiacono and Murphy scored following a timeout to again push the lead to double digits where it remained as Black earned a 54-43 win.

Maroon 58   Orange 52

Team Maroon (USciences) kept pace with Black, rallying from a double-digit second half deficit to defeat Team Orange (Chestnut Hill College) 58-52. 

Maroon improves to 5-1 and clinches the #2 seed for the upcoming league playoffs.  Orange falls to 2-4 and sixth.

Incoming USciences freshman Dayna Balasa led all scorers with 17 points (five three-pointers) while Jess Huber, a USciences senior chipped in 15 (11 in the second half). Lauren Crim led Orange with 12 points.

Orange scored the first seven points of the game before a Balasa three-ball put Maroon on the board. 

 Following a Morgan Sterner basket, Maroon closed out the quarter with an 8-3 run to pull within one 12-11.

Crim opened the second quarter with a three-pointer and Orange added another bucket to take a 17-11 lead.  

Juliana Gura added two straight baskets and Anna McTamney scored another to tie the game at 17-17.  Orange countered with an 11-3 uprising to take a 28-20 lead before another Balasa three-ball and a Taylor Hamm layup cut the Orange lead to 28-25 at halftime.

A 9-0 run by Orange to start the third quarter gave the Chestnut Hill squad their biggest lead 37-25, forcing the USciences squad to call a timeout.  Kerry Patterson gave Maroon their first points at the 4:55 mark starting a 12-6 run, highlighted by a pair of Balasa ‘threes’ and a basket as time was expiring, cutting Orange’s lead to six 43-37 heading into the final quarter.

Isla Brennan scored Maroon’s first eight points of the fourth quarter as Maroon pulled within two 47-45.  

Following a free throw by Emily Chmiel, Huber scored two straight baskets to give Maroon their first lead of the game 49-48 with 4:21 remaining. 

A basket from Hamm and a three-pointer from Huber completed a 9-0 run and increased the Maroon lead to six 54-48.  

Orange could only close within four on two occasions in the final three minutes.  Maroon held the ball for the final 1:30 (there’s no shot clock) and hung on for the 58-52 win.

 Pink 50    Red 31

Pink (USciences alums) earned their third win in league play with a 50-31 victory over winless Team Red (Arcadia University).

Pink improves to 3-3 and is tied for fourth place heading into the final week of regular season action.  Red falls to 0-6.

Jordan Vitelli led all scorers with 15 points. Sarah Abbonizio added 14 to help pace the Pink offense.  Jane Altemus led Red with seven points.

A low scoring first quarter allowed Red to lead for most of the ten-minute period before Pink took the lead 9-8 via a Vitelli bucket as the quarter ended. 

 Vitelli added a traditional three-point play to open the second quarter.  

Red’s Abbey Finkel added a pair of free throws before Pink opened up a double-digit lead with a 13-1 run, 25-11.  Highlighting the run was two baskets apiece from sister Natalie and Malia Kolb.   

 Brady Wassel’s basket as second quarter action wound down made the score 25-13 at halftime.

Another low scoring quarter resulted in just 13 points between the two squads as Pink slightly extended their lead, outscoring Red 7-6 to lead 32-19 heading into the final quarter.

Pink’s Natalie Kolb opened the fourth quarter with a three pointer, her third field goal of the game and Malia Kolb added her third basket of the game to push Pink’s lead to 18, 37-19. Red could only close within 14 as the quarter progressed as Pink maintained their double-digit lead en route to the 19-point win.

 Sky Blue 83 Royal Blue 44

Sky Blue (Holy Family University) placed six players in double figures as they recorded an 83-44 win over Royal Blue (Ursinus College) to move into a tie for fourth place as the league enters its final week of regular season.

Sky improves to 3-3 and is tied with Pink for fourth place.  Pink however holds the tiebreaker via their win over Sky last week on a buzzer beater from Pink’s Irisa Ye.  

Royal falls to 1-5 and is locked into seventh place.

Monee Moore led Sky with 23 points while Jessica Riepe added 16. 

 A quartet of Sky players also had ten points apiece:  Caitlyn Prevost; Dakota Schultice; Lindsey Tretter and Jada Saeger. 

  Dana Bandurick was the lone Royal player in double figures with 22 points.

Bandurick scored the first four points to give Royal an early lead before Sky got on the board with two three-pointers to take a 6-4 lead.  

Baskets by Schultice and Moore pushed the lead to 10-4 before Royal shaved a point off the lead to trail 17-12 after one period of play.

Charlotte DiLello’s basket for Royal tied the game at 17-17 before Sky exploded for a 13-0 run to take control of the game and a 30-17 lead, expanding it to 38-24 by halftime.

Sky outscored royal 21-7 in the third quarter and 24-13 in the fourth quarter to complete the 39-point win. Riepe had 13 of her 16 points in the second half while Saeger scored nine of her ten.  Bandurick scored 10 of Royal’s 20 second half points.

Standings

 

(Thru Week 6 Games Played Thursday, July 22)

 

Team        W  L  PCT.   GB    PF  PA

 

x-Black  6  0  1.000  —  375  247

Maroon 5  1 .833 1.0 319 291

Kelly  4  2  .667 2.0 384 301

Pink  3  3  .500 3.0 296 288

Sky Blue 3  3  .500 3.0  351 312

Orange  2  4   .333 4.0 286 332

Royal  1  5  .167 5.0 285 383

Red  0  6  .000  6.0  222 364

x-Clinched top seed

 

Players Scoring 20 or More Points

 

26-Leah Johnson, Kelly, W, vs. Royal, July 8

23-Monee Moore, Sky Blue, W, vs. Royal Blue, July 22

23-Anna McTamney, Maroon, W, vs. Kelly, July 1

22-Dana Bandurick, Royal Blue, L, vs. Sky Blue, July 22

22-Dana Bandurick, Royal, L, vs. Pink, June 17

21-Irisa Ye, W, vs. Sky Blue, July 8

21-Jordan Vitelli, Pink, L, vs. Black, July 1

20-Bridget Arcidiacono, Black, W, vs. Red, June 24

20-Taylor Hamm, Maroon, W, vs. Red, June 17


Phila/Suburban Women’s Summer Basketball League Schedule

 

Thursday, June 17

 

Results

 

Black (D2-Jefferson) 73, Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family)  49

Pink (D2 – USciences Alumnae) 64, Royal (D3-Ursinus) 55

Maroon (D2-USciences) 73, Red (D3-Arcadia) 32

Kelly (D2-Kutztown) 80, Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill) 42

 

Thursday, June 24

 

Maroon 38, Pink 32

Black 78, Red 44

Orange 53, Royal 44

 Kelly 60, Sky Blue 50

 

Thursday, July 1

 

Maroon 63, Kelly 60

Sky Blue 60, Orange 51

Royal 52, Red 37

Black 78, Red 44

 

Thursday, July 8

 

Kelly 85, Royal 40

Black 65, Maroon 26

Pink 51, Sky Blue 48

Orange 50, Red 45

 

Thursday, July 15

 

Sky Blue 61, Red 33

Kelly 56, Pink 52

Black 45, 38 Orange 

Maroon 61, Royal Blue 50

 

Thursday, July 22

 

Sky Blue 83, Royal 44

Maroon 58, Orange 52

Black 54, Kelly 43

Pink  50,  vs. Red 31

 

 Thursday, July 29

 

Regular Season Ends

 

Early Games (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Pink (3-3) vs. Orange (2-4)

Court 2: Red (0-6) vs. Kelly (4-2)

 

Late Games (7:45 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Sky Blue (3-3) vs. Maroon (5-1)

Court 2: Royal (1-5) vs. Black (6-0)

 

Tuesday, August 3

 

Playoffs Quarterfinals

 

Early Games (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: 8th seed vs. 1st seed

Court 2: 6th seed vs. 3rd seed

 

Late Games (7:45 p.m.)Court 1: 7th seed vs. 2nd seed

Court 2: 5th seed vs. 4th seed

 

Thursday, August 5

 

Playoffs Semifinals

 

Early Game (6:30 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Highest Quarterfinal Survivor vs. Lowest Quarterfinal Survivor

 

Late Game (7:45 p.m.)

 

Court 1: Remaining Surviving Seeds

 

Thursday, August 12

 

Playoff Championship

 

Tipoff: 6:30 p.m.

 

Court 1 : Semifinal Winners

 

 Playoff Seed Tracker 

 

Black (6-0) vs. SB-W; vs. Rd-W; vs. Pk-W; vs. M-W; vs. O-W; vs. Ky-W; vs. Ry

 

Maroon (5-1) vs. Rd-W; vs. P-W; vs. Ky-W; vs. Bl-L; vs. Ry-W; vs. O-W;  vs. SB

 

Kelly (4-2) vs. O-W; vs. SB-W; vs. M-L; vs. Ry-W; vs. Pk-W; vs. Bl-L; vs. Rd

 

Pink (3-3) vs. Ry-W; vs. M-L; vs. Bl-L; vs. SB-W; vs. Ky-L; vs. Rd-W; vs. O

 

Sky Blue (3-3)  vs. Bl-L; vs. Ky-L: vs. O-W; vs. Pk-L; vs. Rd-W; vs, Ry-W; vs. M

 

Orange (2-4) vs. Ky-L; vs. Ry-W; vs. SB-L; vs. Rd-W; vs. Bl-L; vs. M-L; vs. Pk

 

Royal (1-5) vs. Pk-L; vs. O-L; vs. Rd-W; vs .Ky-L; vs. M-L; vs. SB-L; vs. Bl

 

Red (0-6) vs. M-L; vs. Bl-L; vs. Ry-L; vs. O-L; vs. SB-L; vs, Pk-L; vs, Ky

 

Codes: BL-Black; Ky-Kelly; M-Maroon; O-Orange; Pk-Pink; Rd-Red; Ry-Royal; SB-Sky Blue

 

Team By Team Regular Season Schedules/Results

 

Red (D3-Arcadia) 0-6

 

June 17: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads), L 32-73

June 24: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 1-0), L 44-78

July 1: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 0-2), L 37-52

July 8: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 1-2), L 45-50

July 15: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 1-3), L 33-61

July 22: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 2-3), L 31-50

July 29: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown (4-2), 6:30 p.m., Court 2

 

Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill) 2-4

 

June 17: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown), L 42-80

June 24: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 0-1), W 53-44

July 1: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 0-2), L 51-60

July 8: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-3), W 50-45

July 15: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 4-0), L 38-45

July 22: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 4-1), L-52-58

July 29: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 3-3), 6:30 p.m., Court 1

 

Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family) 3-3

 

June 17: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson), L 49-73

June 24: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 1-0), L 50-60

July 1: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 1-1), W 60-51

July 8: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 1-2), L 48-51

July 15: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-4), W 61-33

July 22: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 1-4), W 83-44

July 29: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads (5-1), 7:45 p.m., Court 1

 

Black (D2-Jefferson) 6-0

 

June 17: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family), W 73-49

June 24: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-1), W 78-44

July 1: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 1-1), W 60-47

July 8: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 3-0), W 65-26

July 15: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 2-2), W 45-38

July 22: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 4-1), W-54-43

July 29: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 1-5) , 7:45 p.m., Court 2

 

Kelly (D2-Kutztown) 4-2

 

June 17: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill), W 80-42

June 24: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 0-1), W 60-50

July 1: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 2-0), L 60-63

July 8: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 1-2), W 85-40

July 15: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae 2-2), W 56-52

July 22: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 5-0), L 43-54

July 29: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-6), 6:30 p.m., Court 2

 

Royal (D3-Ursinus) 1-5

 

June 17: vs. Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae), L 55-64

June 24: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 1-0), L 44-53

July 1: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-2), W 52-37

July 8: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 2-1), L 40-85

July 15: vs. Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads 3-1), L 50-61

July 22: vs. Sky Blue  (D2-Holy Family 2-3), L 44-83

July 29: vs. Black (Jefferson 6-0), 7:45 p.m., Court 2

 

Maroon (D2-USciences Undergrads) 5-1

 

June 17: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia), W 73-32

June 24: vs. Pink (USciences Alumnae 1-0 ), W 38-32

July 1: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 2-0), W 63-60

July 8: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 3-0), L 26-65

July 15: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus 1-3), W 61-50

July 22: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 2-3), W 58-52

July 29: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 3-3), 7:45 p.m., Court 1

 

Pink (D2-USciences Alumnae) 3-3

 

 June 17: vs. Royal (D3-Ursinus), W 64-55

June 24: vs. Maroon (D2-Usciences, L 32-38

July 1: vs. Black (D2-Jefferson 2-0), L 47-60

July 8: vs. Sky Blue (D2-Holy Family 1-2), W 51-48

July 15: vs. Kelly (D2-Kutztown 3-1), L 52-56

July 22: vs. Red (D3-Arcadia 0-5), W 50-31

July 29: vs. Orange (D2-Chestnut Hill 2-4), 6:30 p.m., Court 1